No One Could have Predicted This
George Mason, LSU, Florida and UCLA.
Back in November, most would have pegged that group to be more likely to land in Madison Square Garden as the last four teams in the NIT rather than to be the last ones standing for college basketball's ultimate prize. It's the first time since the field expanded to 64 back in 1985 that not a single No. 1 seed has earned a spot in the Final Four.
And if you don't think that George Mason has a chance to come back from Indianapolis with the nets around their necks, you haven't been watching this tournament.
This is parity at its best in college basketball.
Jim Larranaga's club wasn't even supposed to be here. No, we're not talking about the Final Four. The Patriots were expected to be on the outside looking in on the day that the selection committee released its 65 teams.
Now the 11th-seeded Patriots, who had never won an NCAA tournament game prior to this year and are just the second-ever No. 11 to make the Final Four (LSU did it 20 years ago), have become the ultimate Cinderella story.
They have already knocked off a trio of the top programs: Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn. Who's to say that they can't beat third-seeded Florida? Not me.
Then again, any of the four teams can come away with the national championship. That's what'll make next weekend so special and what has made this tournament the most exciting that anyone can recall.
The only one of the quartet that was even ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll was UCLA at No. 19.
LSU was 8-5 at one time and no one outside of Baton Rouge had any idea how talented Tyrus Thomas actually was when the season began. Now Thomas and his roomies, Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Tasmin Mitchell, have become the sentimental co-favorites along with George Mason.
If the backcourt of Darrel Mitchell and Garrett Temple can find a way to make shots from the perimeter, there's no reason why the Tigers can't bring more joy to a state that is still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Florida was expected to take a hard hit after Billy Donovan's club lost its talented, but underachieving, trio of Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh and David Lee last season. Almost all of the Gators' firepower was gone.
However, Billy the Kid's current group goes full throttle all the time and they have as much balance and cohesiveness as anyone in the country. You've got to love the effort that Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green, Corey Brewer and Lee Humphrey give each and every game.
The Pac-10 was belittled after a poor non-conference slate, so no one gave UCLA much respect even after the Bruins rolled past Arizona a trio of times this season.
You can call Ben Howland's club ugly. You can say they can't score, but it doesn't really matter because UCLA knows how to defend — and that could be enough, along with the talented backcourt duo of Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo — to win a national title.
Getting back to George Mason. They aren't all that big — or athletic. They have a big man, Jai Lewis, who has a better chance of making the NFL than the NBA. They have a guard, Tony Skinn, who sat out the first game of the tournament after being suspended by his coach for punching an opponent in the groin.
They are the ultimate David, but there is no Goliath any more. LSU knocked off Duke. George Mason edged UConn. Florida rolled past Villanova and UCLA handled Memphis fairly easily.
What else do all four of these teams have in common other than knocking off a No. 1 seed? They all play hard. They all have good chemistry. They are all fun to pull for.
And none were supposed to be here.
Back in November, most would have pegged that group to be more likely to land in Madison Square Garden as the last four teams in the NIT rather than to be the last ones standing for college basketball's ultimate prize. It's the first time since the field expanded to 64 back in 1985 that not a single No. 1 seed has earned a spot in the Final Four.
And if you don't think that George Mason has a chance to come back from Indianapolis with the nets around their necks, you haven't been watching this tournament.
This is parity at its best in college basketball.
Jim Larranaga's club wasn't even supposed to be here. No, we're not talking about the Final Four. The Patriots were expected to be on the outside looking in on the day that the selection committee released its 65 teams.
Now the 11th-seeded Patriots, who had never won an NCAA tournament game prior to this year and are just the second-ever No. 11 to make the Final Four (LSU did it 20 years ago), have become the ultimate Cinderella story.
They have already knocked off a trio of the top programs: Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn. Who's to say that they can't beat third-seeded Florida? Not me.
Then again, any of the four teams can come away with the national championship. That's what'll make next weekend so special and what has made this tournament the most exciting that anyone can recall.
The only one of the quartet that was even ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll was UCLA at No. 19.
LSU was 8-5 at one time and no one outside of Baton Rouge had any idea how talented Tyrus Thomas actually was when the season began. Now Thomas and his roomies, Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Tasmin Mitchell, have become the sentimental co-favorites along with George Mason.
If the backcourt of Darrel Mitchell and Garrett Temple can find a way to make shots from the perimeter, there's no reason why the Tigers can't bring more joy to a state that is still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Florida was expected to take a hard hit after Billy Donovan's club lost its talented, but underachieving, trio of Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh and David Lee last season. Almost all of the Gators' firepower was gone.
However, Billy the Kid's current group goes full throttle all the time and they have as much balance and cohesiveness as anyone in the country. You've got to love the effort that Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green, Corey Brewer and Lee Humphrey give each and every game.
The Pac-10 was belittled after a poor non-conference slate, so no one gave UCLA much respect even after the Bruins rolled past Arizona a trio of times this season.
You can call Ben Howland's club ugly. You can say they can't score, but it doesn't really matter because UCLA knows how to defend — and that could be enough, along with the talented backcourt duo of Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo — to win a national title.
Getting back to George Mason. They aren't all that big — or athletic. They have a big man, Jai Lewis, who has a better chance of making the NFL than the NBA. They have a guard, Tony Skinn, who sat out the first game of the tournament after being suspended by his coach for punching an opponent in the groin.
They are the ultimate David, but there is no Goliath any more. LSU knocked off Duke. George Mason edged UConn. Florida rolled past Villanova and UCLA handled Memphis fairly easily.
What else do all four of these teams have in common other than knocking off a No. 1 seed? They all play hard. They all have good chemistry. They are all fun to pull for.
And none were supposed to be here.
posted by Michelle at 12:13 PM
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